CTA Weekend Closures: Elevated Loop trains rerouted

The CTA's Orange and Pink line trains will be rerouted Friday night through early Monday morning as crews repair elevated tracks in Chicago's Loop.

CTA Brown Line trains may also see some slowdowns in the Loop due to track sharing over the weekend.

On Friday at 9 p.m., Orange and Pink line trains will be rerouted from the inner Loop tracks to the outer Loop tracks and travel in a counterclockwise direction. Passengers will need to board and exit on the outer side of the platform, where the Brown Line runs.

CTA crews will begin replacing deteriorated rail and track components near the Wells and Van Buren station on Saturday morning. Work continues through early morning Monday, but all rail lines serving the Loop will resume normal operations at the start of service on Monday, April 23.

Some streets near the elevated structure where crews are working will be closed to traffic along Wells and Van Buren. Sidewalks will remain open for pedestrians.

Weekend reroute details: (from the CTA)

Orange Line trains will make their first stop at Adams/Wabash, then Madison/Wabash, Randolph/Wabash, State/Lake, Clark/Lake, Washington/Wells, Quincy, LaSalle/Van Buren and Harold Washington Library, then proceed to Roosevelt and resume the normal route.

Pink Line trains will make their first stop at Washington/Wells, then Quincy, LaSalle/Van Buren, Harold Washington Library, Adams/Wabash, Madison/Wabash, Randolph/Wabash, State/Lake and Clark/Lake, then proceed to Clinton and resume the normal route.

Saturday Morning to Monday Morning: Wells/Van Buren Track Closure From 4 a.m. Saturday, April 21 through 4 a.m. Monday, April 23, the inner and outer elevated tracks along Wells and Van Buren streets will be closed. During this time, all trains serving the Loop elevated will operate along the Wabash and Lake sections of track.

Brown and Orange Line Trains Brown and Orange line trains will operate as one route between Kimball and Midway in both directions along the Lake and Wabash elevated tracks in the Loop. Southbound (to the Loop) Brown Line trains will operate on the inner Loop track as Orange Line trains from Merchandise Mart to Midway. Northbound (to the Loop) Orange Line trains will operate on the outer Loop track as Brown Line trains from Roosevelt to Kimball.

Pink Line Trains Pink Line trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and Roosevelt. Eastbound (to the Loop) trains will travel on the inner Loop tracks and westbound (to 54th/Cermak) trains will operate on the outer Loop tracks.

Green Line Trains Service along the Green Line will not be affected and trains will operate normally in both directions via Lake and Wabash.

CTA's Loop Track Renewal

The weekend closures are the first part of a plan to repair tracks at two of the CTA's busiest junctions: Wabash/Van Buren and Lake/Wells. The $33.8 million project will replace about 11,500 feet of rail and is expected to be completed by fall 2012.

The CTA has already posted the projected weekend closures, which continue through the summer and into the fall. Read about all those reroutes at transitchicago.com.